Torchlight II Preview

MMORPG.com is offering a brief hands-on/interview piece on the upcoming (September 20th!) action-RPG Torchlight II, helped by Runic’s CEO Max Schaefer. Here’s a snippet:

I rolled an Engineer to check out Act II, a location where players are sent out on quests into the desert environments. The Engineer is a fun class to play, definitely the DPS tank of the game. Engineers combine sheer strength with technology to deliver a devestating 1-2 punch to monsters. My girl was swinging a hammer with such astonishing speed and power that I literally mowed through the mobs I encountered. The Engineer also comes with the ability to keep herself healed with a turret that follows the player. In addition, she can summon minions to help out.

Monsters, as with Torchlight I, come fast and in big numbers. Players will need to be prepared for fights with tons of action. Having skills ready to deploy will be a strategic necessity.

The skill effects are really beautiful as well. When that big hammer strikes, it does so with a colorful abandon. The devestating attack she unleashed after charging it up was amazing with bad guys being hurled through the air or just flattened where they stood.

Runic has made a lot of nice improvements since Torchlight I. The game plays smoothly and it looks great. It’s a lot of fun and is a game that will likely satisfy disappointed or bored Diablo 3 players. It’s definitely a game for people to keep an eye on and is a must-have for fans of the action RPG genre. In short? I loved it. You won’t see me much on September 20th.

Thanks RPGWatch.